Effects of agricultural management on surface soil properties and soil–water losses in eastern Spain

In Spain, agriculture triggers soil degradation and erosion processes. New strategies have to be developed to reduce soil losses and recover or maintain soil functionality in order to achieve a sustainable agriculture. An experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of different agricultural management on soil properties and soil erosion. Five different treatments (ploughing, herbicide, control, straw mulch and chipped pruned branches) were established in “El Teularet experimental station” located in the Sierra de Enguera (Valencia, Spain). Soil sampling was conducted prior to treatment establishment, and again after 16 months, to determine soil organic matter content (OM), aggregate stability (AS), and microbial biomass carbon content (Cmic). Fifty rainfall simulations tests (55 mm during one hour, 5-year return period) were applied to measure soil and water losses under each treatment. The highest values of OM, AS and Cmic were observed in the straw-covered plot, where soil and water losses were negligible. On the contrary, the plot treated with herbicides had the highest soil losses and a slight reduction in Cmic. Soil erosion control was effective after 16 months on the plots where vegetation was present while on the ploughed and herbicide-treated plots, the practices were not sustainable due to large water and soil losses. Except for the straw mulch plot, soil properties (OM, AS, Cmic) were not enhanced by the new land managements, but soil erosion control was achieved on three of the five plots used (weeds, weeds plus straw and weeds plus chipped pruned branches). Erosion control strategies such as weeds, weeds plus straw mulch and weeds plus chipped branches mulch are highly efficient in reducing soil losses on traditional herbicide-treated and ploughed agricultural land. However, it takes longer to recover other soil properties such as OM, AS, and Cmic.